James Eich teaches seventh-grade reading at the middle school and has been the Head Coach for the Simley speech team since 2004. He competed in high school speech for five years--four in Creative Expression and one year in Drama. Three of those years he was first alternate to State; his final year he went to State in Creative Expression and took fifth place. He graduated with a B.A. in English, Speech-Theater, and Secondary Education from the University of Minnesota-Morris where he was co-captain of the Forensics team. He has both licensure in K-12 Reading and a Master's in Education from Hamline University. 

Natalie Giese teaches language arts at the middle school and has been the Assistant Coach for the Simley speech team since 2003. She competed in middle and high school speech for seven years and is an alumnus of the Scott Highlands Middle School and Apple Valley High School speech teams. She competed in Drama, Duo, and Prose. She graduated from the University of Eau-Claire with a B.A. in Elementary Education and a minor in Communication Arts. She has a Master's in Teaching and Learning from Saint Mary's University in Winona.

Please contact either of them if you are interested in joining speech.

eichj@invergrove.k12.mn.us                giesen@invergrove.k12.mn.us